Dr. Kam Shojania

2013 Teacher-Educator Award

Dr. Shojania is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, Division of Rheumatology.  Since 2008, he has been the Chief of the UBC Division, Head of the Vancouver General and St. Paul’s Hospital Divisions, and the UBC Rheumatology Postgraduate Program Director.

Dr. Shojania completed his training at UBC.  He was the Chief Medical Resident and won the K. A. Evelyn Award for the most outstanding resident.  He joined the UBC Faculty in 1995.  In 2003, Dr. Shojania received the Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award.

At the time of first faculty appointment, the Program received Ministry of Health funding to train only one rheumatologist every two years.  In the past few years, thanks to his lobbying, the Ministry approved funding for up to four new trainees per year.  Dr. Shojania is recognized across the University and at the Ministry level for promoting the need for more rheumatologists and he is known to highly value the teaching potential of all rheumatologists (community and academic, clinical and research-based).

Based on his strong track record of improving both undergraduate and postgraduate training, and continuing medical education in rheumatology at the University of British Columbia, Dr. Shojania was awarded a five-year Arthritis Society of Canada Clinician-Educator Award in 2001.  He became more active in promoting better rotations and developing novel electives for early-year medical students and internal medicine residents.  One of Dr. Shojania’s first initiatives in 2001 was to start a basic skills course for the new UBC rheumatology fellows.  The UBC Basic Skills Course is now a five day course attended by most of the new rheumatology trainees from across Canada.